My Visit to WeChat and Why They Are Smarter Than Apple and Facebook (Tech Strategy – Podcast 13)

Jeffrey Towson visited the WeChat Open Class in Guangzhou and was impressed by the company’s platform business model, its focus on social and transactional features, and its ability to adapt to the needs of Chinese consumers. He believes that WeChat is smarter than Apple and Facebook because it has a better understanding of the Chinese market and is able to offer a more comprehensive suite of services.

Is Facebook Behind Tiktok’s CFIUS Review? Alibaba and Mobike Have Digital Superpowers (Daily Update 11.7.19)

Good morning everyone. This is the daily update for Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, with two points. Facebook is increasingly citing China in their lobbying. Are they behind Tiktok’s CFIUS review? Alibaba and Mobike have digital superpowers. Cheers from the Shanghai airport, jeff Is Facebook behind Tiktok’s CFIUS review? In the last week, CFIUS announced that […]

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Facebook Copying WeChat Could Result in Stunning Growth (pt 2 of 2)

In Part 1, I argued that Mark Zuckerberg’s memo on “privacy-focused messaging and social networking” is actually an aggressive and potentially stunning growth path for the company. I called it the ultimate gangster move. Their move to consolidate their messaging services creates a big global tool. And it looks a lot like the foundation of […]

Facebook Copying WeChat is the Ultimate Gangster Move (pt 1 of 2)

Mark Zuckerberg’s memo on “privacy-focused messaging and social networking” has some really big implications. It is focused on private messaging and the WeChat-type operating system. To me, it looks like the first move in a strategy to turn Facebook into a much larger and more powerful company. That such a big power play is dressed […]